Maya Regev, who was released from Hamas captivity after 50 days, spoke in the Knesset on Tuesday to mark International Women's Day and criticized the lawmakers and the government. "The same women who trusted you, in the Knesset, in our government, and are disappointed by you daily, they are the true heroes," she said.
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"I came here to cry out for the hostages left behind. The same cry I let out when I was being abducted," she said after playing a chilling recording of her last conversation with her father before Hamas terrorists captured her from the Nova Music Festival.
"Captives who, if they could only let out their voice, would scream their souls out. Captives who thought they would be rescued after a week or two, and are still there even now," she said.
"How can I and everyone in Israel walk the streets and breathe fresh air when one of my best friends is sitting there in Gaza? They must be released. When I was abducted, I thought it was only happening at the party and only heard about most of the horrors that took place when I returned," she said.
"There are many things I still do not know because I can't handle it. It angers me. How could this have happened? How can so many young women be left there? They need to come home."
She said she was speaking to the lawmakers because it was the least she could do. "How can I be here while they're not? They’ve been sitting there afraid since that Saturday, she said. "Every minister in this government and every cabinet member needs to imagine what it would be like to have their daughter sitting there.
“What would you do to get her out?" she asked. "Imagine that you don't know what's happening with your family for 151 days. How would you keep on breathing? 151 days of a continuous and endless nightmare. They need to be everyone's top priority."
Regev said Israel discovered its many strong women in the atrocities and the war including the women who were held captive in Gaza. Those who are still there are perhaps the strongest women you'll ever meet. The war there is hard. They play with your mind, make you think that nobody cares about you. I know what it's like to be a woman in there, I know what it's like to know someone could murder me at every moment."
Regev returned to Israel in the second phase of the hostage deal with Hamas back in November 2023 along with 12 other Israelis and 4 foreign nationals. Her brother was released four days later. Due to her complex medical condition, she was immediately transferred to the Soroka Medical Center in Beer Sheva, where she was hospitalized and underwent surgery.